NBA D-League Officially Becomes NBA’s Minor League System
June 11th, 2008 at 1:18 pmBy Chris
While it’s unofficially been designated as such since its inception, the NBA’s Developmental League is now the official minor league system of the NBA as the powers-that-be announced the affiliation system allowing each NBA team to have a D-League affiliate to assign first and second-year players to. Currently there are 16 D-League teams, two of which are owned by the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs.
The means the other 28 NBA teams will have 14 teams to align themselves with so they can continue to develop the young talent on their respective rosters. NBA.com has more:
With the NBA D-League expanding by two teams — Erie, Penn. and Reno, Nev. — for the upcoming season, the league will feature 16 teams. The 2008-09 season will be the first in which each NBA D-League team is affiliated with a maximum of two NBA teams.
“Having our fans be able to watch games with some of the young players we may happen to have with the Erie BayHawks from our team, we can create an even greater fan base,” said Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry. “It’s a great thing. From a basketball standpoint, we’ll be able to come and watch games and support the guys we have here and also be able to scout players. Other than the NBA, this is probably the most scouted professional league in the world.”
Of course, the main difference between MLB and the NBA and their use of their minor leagues is the NBA restricts reassignment to first and second-year players. In baseball, you can send any player down to the lower levels, no matter how long they’ve been in the Majors (see Willis, Dontrelle).
In case you are wondering, there have been several D-League success stories as players like Kelenna Azubuike and Chuck Hayes (sorry for the UK bias) have used their time in the Developmental League to become successful NBA players.
Here is a complete list of D-League NBA call-ups.
